A brutal daylight murder created widespread panic in the Batala area of Gurdaspur district in Punjab on Thursday morning. Pastor Balwinder Pal, also known as Laddi, who operated a church from his residential premises in Gandhi Camp, was fatally attacked inside his house by assailants armed with sharp-edged weapons. The pastor sustained critical injuries and collapsed on the spot. Family members and local residents quickly rushed him to a nearby hospital, where medical staff declared him dead on arrival. Following the daylight killing, tension gripped the local community as police officials launched an immediate investigation into the incident.
Assailants Entered the House and Carried Out Lethal Assault
According to police details, Balwinder Pal resided alone at his property in Gandhi Camp, using the same location to hold regular church gatherings. On Thursday morning, several individuals entered his home unannounced. Before Balwinder Pal could react or raise an alarm, the intruders launched a ferocious assault using sharp weapons. He sustained catastrophic wounds and fell to the floor, triggering chaos and panic across the residence. Hearing the commotion, relatives and neighbours rushed to the spot, but the attackers had already managed to flee the scene before anyone could intervene.
Relatives Rule Out Prior Rivalry as Video Evidence Surfaces
The victim's relatives insisted that Balwinder Pal had no known enemies or longstanding feuds with anyone in the locality. His nephew Sunny stated that the pastor maintained peaceful relations and had no personal disputes. Relatives have alleged that certain individuals belonging to the Gandhi Camp neighbourhood itself entered the house and carried out the fatal attack. In connection with the sequence of events, a closed-circuit television recording capturing a neighbourhood dispute around the time of the incident has surfaced. Police personnel are closely scrutinizing the CCTV footage to establish the identities of the assailants seen in the area.
Civil Line Police Register Murder Case and Begin Hunt for Suspects
Upon receiving information about the violent attack, Civil Line Police Station in-charge Lakhwinder Singh rushed to the scene along with a police team. The station head stated that officers reached the spot immediately, but the injured pastor had already succumbed to his injuries before life-saving treatment could be administered. The body was taken into custody and sent for a post-mortem examination. Based on formal statements provided by the victim's grieving family, police have registered an official case against Naresh, a resident of Gandhi Camp. Law enforcement authorities are currently investigating the motive behind the murder while identifying other accomplices involved in executing the crime.
